The Minnesota Timberwolves have shocked the NBA world again and have cruised through the first two rounds of the NBA playoffs. They beat the third-seeded Lakers in five games and the seventh-seeded Warriors (coming off an upset victory in a series against the Rockets) in five games as well.
Following a preseason trade that involved their all-NBA center, Karl Anthony Towns, moving to New York in exchange for two role players, Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, the Timberwolves appeared to be relinquishing their potential to return to the Western Conference Finals. The team accomplished that feat last year, seemingly because they had two all-stars (KAT and Ant) and the Defensive Player of the Year (Rudy Gobert). In a league that is so star-focused, it seemed like trading one of their three stars was tantamount to giving up, but that wasn’t the case.
